[Role of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the breast].

Breast ultrasonography is today a diagnostic technique whose results are either under or overestimated by different Authors. In this paper the Authors report their experience with ultrasound for the diagnosis of breast cancer. In 214 patients with palpable breast nodule ultrasonography employed as the only diagnostic technique allowed the diagnosis of breast cancer in 89.7% (61/68 patients), and in particular in 82.4% of T1 in 96.9% of T2 and in 100% of T3 tumors. From these data it can be resumed that breast ultrasonography reaches a good diagnostic reliability. Unfortunately the limits in defining malignancy of solid appearing mass don't allow its routine use as the gold standard for breast cancer diagnosis. We believe indeed that ultrasonography has an important role as an integrative diagnostic method among those commonly used in this field.